Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Food for Education Program (FFE), which provided free food to poor families if their children attended primary school, was successful in increasing children’s school enrollment, especially for girls. However, this success came at a price as class sizes increased. This paper uses a rich...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ahmed, Akhter, Arends-Kuenning, Mary
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172106
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author Ahmed, Akhter
Arends-Kuenning, Mary
author_browse Ahmed, Akhter
Arends-Kuenning, Mary
author_facet Ahmed, Akhter
Arends-Kuenning, Mary
author_sort Ahmed, Akhter
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Bangladesh’s Food for Education Program (FFE), which provided free food to poor families if their children attended primary school, was successful in increasing children’s school enrollment, especially for girls. However, this success came at a price as class sizes increased. This paper uses a rich data set that includes school achievement test scores, information on schools, and household data to explore the impact of FFE on the quality of education. The analysis focuses on the impact of FFE on the achievement test scores of students who did not receive benefits. We find evidence for a negative impact of FFE on the test scores of non-beneficiary students through peer effects rather than through classroom crowding effects.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace172106
institution CGIAR Consortium
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publishDate 2006
publishDateRange 2006
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spelling CGSpace1721062025-04-08T18:30:25Z Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh Ahmed, Akhter Arends-Kuenning, Mary education children food aid tests subsidies Bangladesh’s Food for Education Program (FFE), which provided free food to poor families if their children attended primary school, was successful in increasing children’s school enrollment, especially for girls. However, this success came at a price as class sizes increased. This paper uses a rich data set that includes school achievement test scores, information on schools, and household data to explore the impact of FFE on the quality of education. The analysis focuses on the impact of FFE on the achievement test scores of students who did not receive benefits. We find evidence for a negative impact of FFE on the test scores of non-beneficiary students through peer effects rather than through classroom crowding effects. 2006-04 2025-01-29T12:59:21Z 2025-01-29T12:59:21Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172106 en Limited Access Elsevier Ahmed, Akhter U.; Arends-Kuenning, Mary. 2006. Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning? evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh. World Development 34(4): 665-684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.09.011
spellingShingle education
children
food aid
tests
subsidies
Ahmed, Akhter
Arends-Kuenning, Mary
Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh
title Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh
title_full Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh
title_fullStr Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh
title_short Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning?: evidence from the Food for Education Programme in Bangladesh
title_sort do crowded classrooms crowd out learning evidence from the food for education programme in bangladesh
topic education
children
food aid
tests
subsidies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172106
work_keys_str_mv AT ahmedakhter docrowdedclassroomscrowdoutlearningevidencefromthefoodforeducationprogrammeinbangladesh
AT arendskuenningmary docrowdedclassroomscrowdoutlearningevidencefromthefoodforeducationprogrammeinbangladesh